A Caw for Help one cawn't refuse
by Xagrok
Summary: A crow insists on Nico following it.
Nico's day took a turn when the crow cawed on the top of his cabin after he exited and looked at him with black, beady eyes. The bird's eyes held an eerie intelligence that made shivers run down the son of Hades' back. When he turned around to walk away, the crow cawed again, and when Nico walked, he heard the flutter of wings as it glided closer and landed in front of him.

With a raised eyebrow, Nico tried to ignore the bird to continue on his way, but the pesky little thing hopped back into his way. With a sigh, Nico gave up. "Is there something I can do to help?" he asked, not feeling quaint at all for talking to a bird. Then again, he was the son of a Greek god in a camp with dryads and naiads and satyrs that was lead by a thousands of years-old centaur. It's not like this was too much out of order.

The crow tilted its head and cawed again, flying past him into the direction of the woods. Without thinking too much about it, he followed the bird in the direction of the North Woods, his hand resting on his Stygian iron sword.

As he made his way through the woods, he thought about a strategy in case this was a trap. Was there a god or goddess well-known for changing into ravens, or one that had one as their sacred animal? The only myth he could recall was that of Arne, and that one didn't involve crows themselves.

Why would a crow trust him, anyways? Wouldn't a child of Hecate or of Nemesis be a much better fit than a child of Hades, the God of the Underworld who probably smelled of death and darkness even now?

As Nico proceeded, light breaking through the leaves over him and birds singing their courting songs, he looked about carefully while the crow flew and hopped from branch to branch, cawing occasionally when Nico threatened to deviate off the way. After passing a clearing, he was standing amidst trees in a more quiet section of the forest, the tranquil silence only occasionally disrupted by the far sounds of birds and the nearby river.

The crow had landed on a branch by now, no longer keeping the distance between them. When Nico arrived at the place the crow had led him to, his eyes went wide at the beautiful scenery surrounding the crow in between. Its wing was standing out at an unhealthy-looking angle and it called out almost fearfully, looking at its companion as if to say Are you nuts? This guy smells of trouble!

Refused by a crow. That stung only a little.

Nevertheless, Nico got closer to the crow, careful not to touch it by accident. The time he'd had to spend in the infirmary might not have prepared him for tending to animals other than the obvious, not completely animal residents of Camp Half-Blood, but he got a few things from working with Will. Nico took off the light jacket he was wearing (Which hopefully didn't smell much like him) and picked the injured bird up, careful not to touch the hurt wing. After he had secured a stable stance for the crow, he held it gently.

"I'm taking you to the infirmary to heal you," Nico said, feeling obligated to inform the apparently intelligent birds. When he was met with protest, he fished a bit of bread he'd taken from the dining table - Will would have his head if he didn't keep an emergency supply of basic nutrient providers with him, and he's been hungry anyway - and ripped it into small, edible bits which he offered to the injured bird. When it took one of the pieces hesitantly, the other one squawked again, as if to tell it Yeah, just what I was talking about, idiot.

Speaking of which, there'd been a crow the past few weeks after he'd fed some when he'd been in the city. Maybe the bird had followed him?

Shaking his head, Nico returned to Camp, offering small pieces to the bird in his arms every now and then.

* * *

Even two weeks after the incident, the crows hadn't stopped following him. Nico still fed them a little sometimes, and every time the crows would squawk appreciatively. To make matters easier, Nico even gave them names - Corvus for the one who had gotten him, Corax for the formerly injured one. Being the intelligent, polite birds they were, they even behaved considerate and refrained from staining his or any other cabin.

Nico wasn't aware of their reasons for staying with him, but the didn't mind the duo. He was admittedly surprised when the crows didn't leave him after the Corax's wings had healed, and even more when one time, Corvus perched on his shoulder - resulting in him yelping slightly - and rubbed against his cheek slightly. Nico hesitantly extended a finger and lightly scratched it and the crow even leaned into it, closing its eyelids and adjusting the angle slightly.

He usually was accompanied by at least one of them, either Corvus or Corax, sometimes both of them. While he didn't feed them too often - especially not with bread after being told that birds apparently digest bread as well as humans do with grass - he fed them in an almost regular fashion, and apparently, crows worked in flocks as well. Soon enough, the camp grounds were even more alive, if only with crows now. If Chiron was upset, he didn't show it.

When Will saw the birds for the first time, he had forbidden Nico from bringing "pets" to the infirmary due to sanitary reasons. Nico blinked a few times, but he shrugged and asked the birds to wait for him outside. When Nico went outside again after working, Corvus and Corax claimed their places again and Nico ruffled both of them, a smile unbeknownst to him gracing his features. The other crows were resting on top of the infarmary.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Will said and Nico looked at him while Will's gaze was fixed on the sea in the distance, Nico being unable to see his face. "I may not permit them in the infirmary, but I like these birds. They seem to be healthy for you." Will turned around to face Nico. "You know, you may be annoying and antisocial, di Angelo, but-" he paused before continuing, almost whispering, "I like seeing them making you smile."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Solace?"

Will smiled a little. "Having animals spend time with the patient is one of many therapeutic measures. I won't go into it too deeply, I want to eat dinner, after all, but the effect of contact with animals seems to be present with you as well, even though the animals are a little different from the usual dogs."

Nico smirked at that. "Oh, are you jealous, Solace?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Dream on, Death Boy. It's from a purely professional point of view, after all." He huffed a little, heading off towards the dining pavilion. "But I admit that your smile is nice. Healing is important, and I'm glad these crows are helping you with it." He suddenly turned around. "Also, while I haven't had the chance to watch them, I was told that you resemble a dark Disney princess nowadays." Without waiting for him, Will ran off.

Nico didn't realize he had stopped scratching his birds' bellies until they squawked. When he returned to work, his smile returned as he looked at his companions. "My smile is nice, huh…" he mused while Corax cawed as though to confirm this. With a small chuckle, Nico went to eat some dinner himself.

After he found out about Disney princesses, his chuckle got stuck in his throat. Fortunately, the crows treated him like royalty - enough to resemble an army Nico could send against a certain son of Apollo.


End file.
